My very first post here was about the Street family of Modoc county, California. Much has come to light in the last nine years, so here is a revised and updated version of that extensive analysis:
The Family Origin of Zedekiah Street of Modoc co. CA
The identification of the parents and siblings of Zedekiah Street, an early settler of Modoc co. CA, has been a genealogical project of some complication. A long series of circumstantial evidence has convinced this writer that Zedekiah was the son of Joseph and Margaret (Carmichael) Street. The purpose of this paper is to outline the evidence which has led to this conclusion.
I. DIRECT FAMILY KNOWLEDGE. At the time this study began, two of the grandchildren of Zedekiah Street were living—Olin Street Johnson and Elma Caroline (Johnson) Craig. Olin was old enough to remember his grandfather well, having been 11 1/2 when Zedekiah died; furthermore, the Johnson family lived next door to the Streets during Olin’s childhood. Elma did not have many first-hand memories since she was several years younger; but she did live closer to her parents in their later years, and so had considerable information based on conversations with them. In talking with Olin and Elma, the following information emerged [based on notes taken by the writer from conversations with each of them]:
A. Zedekiah Street came originally from “the
South” (Olin thought it was Kentucky, but was not certain). He apparently came
to Arkansas at some point because he was on a wagon train about 1860 from Arkansas
to California which also included Caroline Hash and her sister, Emeline (Hash)
Dodson), of Arkansas.
B. He was married to Caroline Hash en route, in
Denver, CO; they settled first in Camptonville, Yuba co. CA.
C. After a few years in Camptonville, they moved
to Surprise Valley in what is now Modoc co. CA (it was at that time Siskiyou
co.).
D. At some point in their early days there, they
were joined by Zedekiah’s older brother, John Street. John died before either
of these grandchildren were born, but they both remembered his widow, “Aunt
Martha Street.” They believed that her maiden name was Robinson, or something
similar.
II. INFORMATION FROM CENSUS AND CEMETERY RECORDS. Both Zedekiah and John Street are buried in the Cedarville Cemetery, Modoc co. CA; both appear in early census records from Modoc co.; and both also appear on the Great Register (of voters) for that county. These records add the following information:
A. According to his tombstone, Zedekiah Street
was born 11 Dec. 1826. (Note that the name on the tombstone is spelled
“Zedikiah”; the spelling varies in different records, but it appears that
“Zedekiah” is generally used in records such as voter registrations where he
himself gave the information.) An obituary in the Surprise Valley Record gives his birth date as 11 Dec. 1828. Normally one would give preference to the
tombstone record; in this case, however, neither existing census records nor
his Great Register listing support a birth year as early as 1826, and most
suggest 1828/29. All these sources also
list his birthplace as Tennessee. [Sources: (1) Tombstone in Cedarville
Cemetery, Cedarville, Modoc co. CA; a photograph of the tombstone is posted
online at http://www.findagrave.com/;
(2) 1870 census of Surprise Valley, Siskiyou co. CA, p. 14, line 16, where his
age is give as 41; (3) 1880 census of Cedarville, Modoc co. CA, E.D. 67, p. 6,
line 25, where is age is given as 52; (4) U. S. Census Year: 1900; Census Place: Cedarville, Modoc, California; Roll: 94;
Page 5A; Enumeration
District: 84, line 21; FHL
microfilm: 1240094; (5) Great
Register of Yuba co. CA, indicating he registered to vote 26 Feb 1867, giving
his age as 38 (California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection
Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll
Number: 140; FHL Roll
Number: 978599, p. 96); (6)
Great Register of Modoc co. CA, indicating he registered to vote 13 Sep. 1892,
giving his age as 64 (California State Library, California History
Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection
Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll
Number: 27; FHL Roll
Number: 976938, image 142); (7)
Great Register of Modoc co. CA, indicating he registered to vote 24 Apr 1875,
giving his age as 44 (California State Library, California History
Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection
Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll
Number: 27; FHL Roll
Number: 976938. Image 15); (8) Obituary
in the Surprise Valley Record, 25 Apr
1906.]
B. John Street was born 12 Jan. 1816, according
to his tombstone; and the date is supported by the 1880 census and Great
Register records. John died in 1884, and thus only appears in Modoc co. in the
1880 census. Both census and Great Register list his birthplace as North
Carolina. [Sources: (1) Tombstone in Cedarville Cemetery, Modoc co. CA; (2) U.
S. Census (Year: 1880; Census
Place: Cedarville, Modoc, California; Roll: 69; Family History Film: 1254069; Page: 4C; Enumeration District: 067; Image: 0009); (3) Great Register of Modoc co.
CA, indicating he registerd to vote 5 May 1874, giving his age as 60
(California State Library, California History Section; Great Registers, 1866-1898; Collection
Number: 4 - 2A; CSL Roll
Number: 27; FHL Roll
Number: 976938, image 7).]
C. The 1880 census records for both brothers,
and the 1900 census for Zedekiah, agree
that their father was born in Virginia and their mother in North Carolina.
D. John Street’s wife, Martha Ann, is buried
next to him, and her tombstone indicates her birth date was 14 Nov. 1831. A
biographical sketch of their son James M Street [Source: An Illustrated History of Central Oregon (Western Publishing Co.,
1905), p. 752] states that her maiden name was “Roberson,” and indicates that
the John Street family lived in Putnam co. TN for many years prior to their
migration to California about 1870; an obituary of one of John and Martha’s
daughters, Margaret (Street) Wilder, confirms the connection to Putnam co. TN.
E. A newspaper notice of the marriage of Zedekiah
Street and Caroline Hash 17 June 1860 appeared in the Rocky Mountain News (Denver, 20 June 1860) and indicated that
Zedekiah was from Madison co. AR. [Source: image of Rocky Mountain News, 17 June 1860, p. 3 on www.genealogybank.com, accessed 22 July
2012.]
F. The 1900 census for Zedekiah shows that there was living in his
household a man named Richard L. Street, born in Arkansas in July 1851,
identified as Zedekiah’s nephew. Also in the household was this Richard’s wife
Mary and several children:
Richard
L. Street b. July 1851 AR father
b. TN mother b. ?
Mary
(wife) b. March 1862 CA father b. TX mother b. TX
May
(dau.) b. May 1879 CA father
b. AR mother b. CA
Susie
(dau.) b. March 1884 NV father b. AR mother b. CA
Maggie
(dau.) b. March 1887 CA father b. AR mother b. CA
Artie
(son) b. Jan. 1889 MT father b. AR mother b. CA
Gussie
(dau.) b. Jan. 1891 CA father b. AR mother
b. CA
Hugh
(son) b. Nov. 1892 CA father
b. AR mother b. CA
Thomas
(son) b. Feb. 1882 NV father b. AR mother b. CA
[Source: Year: 1900; Census Place: Cedarville,
Modoc, California; Roll: 94; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 84, lines 27-36); FHL microfilm: 1240094.]
ANALYSIS: It seems probable, based on the census
records, that the father of Zedekiah and
John Street was a Virginian who migrated to North Carolina, met and married his
wife there and began his family. At some point between the births of John and Zedekiah
they apparently moved to Tennessee. Zedekiah, at least, seems to have moved to
Madison co. AR; probably, since this nephew was born in AR, at least one
brother of Zedekiah Street was living in
AR as well. The children of John Street are fully known, and it is apparent
that this Richard L. Street was not among them. There is no evidence, in fact,
that John Street ever lived in AR; all his children were born in TN.
III. STREET FAMILIES IN TULARE CO., CA AND VICINITY: A Street family which settled in Tulare county, CA, can be shown to be connected to the Modoc co. families. The chain of evidence is complicated, but can be outlined as follows:
A. In Tulare co. a deed is recorded, dated 25 Dec. 1863, by which one Joseph Street transferred land to Patience Street, and to Joseph, Margaret, Lafayette, James, Rebeca, Catharine, and Thomas Street, “minor children of said Patience by her late husband Richard Street” and the “widow and children of his deceased brother.”
B. J. M. Guinn’s History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the San
Joaquin Valley, California (1902) contains a biographical sketch of one
Joseph J. Street, about whom the following information is given:
1. Joseph J. Street was the son of Richard and
Patience (Randolph) Street, and was born in White co. TN 6 Dec. 1846. His family moved to AR when he was three
years old.
2. Joseph’s father, Richard, moved his family to
California in 1860, settling finally near Visalia, Tulare co.; he died about
1863.
3. Richard and Patience (Randolph) Street had
three daughters and five sons “who attained mature years.”
Clearly this Joseph is the son of the
Richard Street referred to in the 1863 deed, since the death date and place is
the same, and the name of Richard’s wife is the same.
C. Marriage records in Tulare co. indicate that
Richard’s widow, Mrs. Patience Street, married A. J. Worthley 22 May 1864.
Census records show that they had two children, Alfred L. and Marshall
Worthley. Furthermore, Mary Catherine Street, daughter of Richard and Patience,
married her stepbrother, Thomas W. Worthley (son of A. J. Worthley by his first
wife).
D. A series of records leads to the conclusion
that Richard and Patience’s son referred to as Lafayette in the deed was the
same person listed in the 1900 census as Zedekiah’s nephew “Richard L. Street”:
1. As noted above, the 1900 census for Richard
L. Street in the Modoc co. household of his uncle Zedekiah includes children
Thomas, Maggie (Margaret?), Susie, and Gussie (and others); it lists Richard’s
wife as Mary and says he was born in AR in July 1851.
2. Richard Lafayette Street was registered to
vote in Tulare co. CA in 1898, age 46, b. Arkansas.
2. A Richard Lafayette Street died in
Sebastopol, CA 6 Aug. 1939. His death certificate gives his birth date as 11
July 1851, indicates he was a native of AR, son of Richard and Patience
(Randolph) Street, and it names his widow as Reina Street. An obituary of this
man also names daughters Mrs. Maggie Cornett, Mrs. Susie Hoffman, and Mrs.
Gussie Abbot, and a son C. J. Street. Based on the correspondence of names of
his children, and the date and place of birth, it seems evident that this is
the same Richard L. Street who appears in Modoc co. in 1900; and that his wife
Mary had died (or they had divorced) and he had remarried a woman named Reina. Reina’s
own death certificate (she died in Sebastopol in 1951) indicates that her
maiden name was Talsma; the death certificate of C. J. Street (who died in
Sebastopol in 1976) records his parents’ names as Cornelius Hornstra and Reina
Talsma.
3. A 1910 census listing for a Lafayett R.
Street in Tulare co. in 1910 shows him as a single man, age 59 (i.e. b. ca.
1851), born in AR, living in the household of a widow, Reina Hornstra.
Certainly this man is identical with the Richard L. Street discussed above; on
the surface it would appear that his wife Mary died (or they had divorced)
1900/1910 and he married Reina, in whose home he was boarding in 1910; however,
since we know that Mary didn’t die until 1953, there must have been a divorce
here. Immediately adjacent to this household in 1910 was that of Thomas W.
Worthley, the recently widowed husband of Mary Catherine (Street) Worthley, who
(according to her death certificate) was the daughter of Richard and Patience
(Randolph) Street and thus the sister of Richard Lafayette Street.
4. A 1907 Tulare co. marriage record for one Ora
Hamilton to Thomas Alford Street (b. NV ca. 1882, which corresponds to the
Thomas listed as a son of Richard L. Street in the 1900 census) indicates his
father was L. Street and his mother Mary Bryant. No doubt “L. Street” is
“Lafayette,” the name by which Richard apparently was primarily known.
5. Brief correspondence with the widow of C. J.
Street of Sebastopol indicated that he was the “adopted son” of Richard L.
Street. Mrs. Alice Street said that she had no further information on the
Street family, but she enclosed (without explanation) two sheets of paper,
seemingly rather old, on which were written in pencil a number of names and
address, apparently of her husband’s relatives.
They included: Susie Hoffman, Artie Street, Margie Cornett, (Dot) Gussie
Abbott, Grandpa Bryant. The recurrence of names (especially the reference to
the surname Bryant) supports the inference that the Richard who died in
Sebastopol was the same man who was first married Mary Bryant.
6. An obituary in the Oakland Tribune for Mrs. Susie Hoffman, clearly
the same woman named in the Sebastopol Richard L. Street’s obituary as his
daughter, indicates that her middle name was Patience—no doubt for her
grandmother.
ANALYSIS: It is clear from the above facts that the
Richard L. Street who was a nephew of
Zedekiah Street is the same Richard L. Street who died in Sebastopol, CA
in 1939, and that he was the same man who is referred to as Lafayette Street in
the 1863 deed, Richard Lafayette Street in the Tulare co. Great Register in
1898, and as Lafayett R. Street in the 1910 census of Tulare co. This
establishes the fact that Zedekiah Street and Richard Street (father of Richard
Lafayette Street) were brothers. This is confirmed by additional evidence:
E. Census and other records pertaining to Joseph
J. Street, known from the biographical sketch to be the son of Richard and
Patience Street, indicate that he was married at least three times, and that he
had at least one daughter who lived to maturity, Dora Street. An autograph book
which belonged to Martha Ann Street, daughter of Zedekiah Street, contains several autographs
from persons in Pixley, Tulare co.; one of these is signed “your cousin, Dora
Street” (dated Nov. 30. 1890).
F. Two other autographs from this book (also
dated in late 1890, when Martha is known to have taken an extended trip
throughout California) are “your cousin M. R. Worthley” and “your cousin Maggie
Worthley”; also “your friend A. L. W.”
It has already been noted that Richard Street’s widow, Patience, married
A. J. Worthley and had two sons, Alfred L. and Marshall. One of Richard and Patience’s
daughters, Mary Catherine, married her step-brother, Thomas Woodson Worthley,
and had a daughter Margaret, b. 1879, who is likely this “Maggie Worthley.”
G. It has previously been noted that Richard
Street’s widow Patience, together with her children, were deeded land by Joseph
Street, described as Richard’s brother.
The June, 1965 issue of Los
Tulares (bulletin of the Tulare County Historical Society) has an article
on the Yokohl Valley, in which two early settlers, Joe and Jim Street, are
mentioned. “Neither ever married,” it states, “and they raised sheep, cattle
and hogs together for several years. After some difference of opinion, Joe
moved to a ranch at Milo where he died many years ago.” In a letter to this
writer, the author of that article, Annie R. Mitchell, stated that she had
interviewed Rev. E. R. Connelly, who had performed the funeral service for Jim
Street; according to him, Jim and Joe were brothers who had a “falling out”
many years before. The death certificates for both brothers have been
inspected; no information about their parentage is given, but it might be noted
that the informant on James Street’s certificate was one T. W. Street—very
likely Thomas Wright Street, a son of Richard and Patience Street, and thus presumably
James Street’s nephew. The death certificates also give no information as to
birthplace or date of birth. Joseph, who died in 1910, is said to have been “76
years and 10 months” of age; James, who died in 1919, is said to have been born
in 1841. Both these men were listed on the Great Register for Tulare co. in
1867, and there it indicates that Joseph Street, age 34, was born in TN, and
James Monroe Street, age 27, was born in TN. Both also appear in the 1900
census, where Joseph is said to have been born in May 1833, and James in Sept.
1842 (though various other records suggest a slightly earlier birth date for
him; probably the Great Register which suggests a birth date of 1839/40 is most
trustworthy, since he himself would have given that information when he
registered). In both cases, the census indicates their father was born in
Virginia, their mother in North Carolina—consistent with the pattern shown in
the census for both Zedekiah and John
Street.
ANALYSIS: This rather complicated argument can be
summarized as follows: (1) The various records pertaining to Richard Lafayette
Street and his family demonstrate that Zedekiah Street was a brother of the
Richard Street who died in Tulare co. in 1863. (2) The Tulare co. deed proves that Joseph Street
was also a brother of Richard Street. (3) The Tulare co. historical information
indicates that James Monroe Street was a brother of Joseph Street, and this is
confirmed by the fact that the informant on James’ death certificate was
apparently a son of Joseph’s Street’s brother Richard. When this information is
collated, it suggests a Street family with at least the following members:
i. Richard Street, b. NC (?) ca. 1814/15, mar.
Patience Randolph.
ii. John Street, b. NC 12 Jan. 1816, mar. Martha
Ann Robinson/Roberson.
iii. Zedekiah Street, b. TN 11 Dec. 1828, mar.
Caroline Hash.
iv. Joseph Street, b. ca. May 1833, never
married.
v. James Monroe Street, b. TN ca. Sept. 1839,
never married.
Furthermore,
census records for four of these brothers (excluding Richard, who died too early
for the censuses which asked for this information) consistently indicate that
their father was born in Virginia, their mother in North Carolina; and the
birthplaces of the sons would suggest that a migration from North Carolina to
Tennessee took place some time between 1816 and 1828. Both Richard and Zedekiah have been connected to Arkansas, the
latter specifically to Madison co.
IV. MADISON COUNTY, ARKANSAS. Records in early Madison co. AR are sparse, but they prove the presence of this Street family in the 1850s. Richard Street supposedly moved to AR when his son Joseph was three (he was b. Dec. 1846), but he does not appear there in the 1850 census of that state, so apparently had not yet arrived in time for the census taker. Both Richard and Zedekiah left AR about 1860, and thus do not appear there in the census of that year (neither have they been found in California; the census seems to have missed them, perhaps because they were en route at the time it was taken).Yet there are relevent Madison co. records:
A. Tax records exist for Madison co., and they show the following Street entries: Richard appears first in 1852; and Richard, Jo[seph] and Tom in 1853. According to a Madison county researcher, the listing for a particular year would indicate that the individual incurred tax liability in the county the previous fall. In the 1853 listing, the three are consecutive, which usually indicates that they went to the courthouse together to be assessed. In 1853, Joseph is not assessed a poll tax; this indicates that was 55 years of age or older, and thus exempt (so he obviously could not be the Joseph who appears in Tulare co., whom we have demonstrated is the brother of Zedekiah, Richard, James and John). The same three names appear in 1854; in 1855 and 1856, Richard does not appear, but the others do, as does William Street. Subsequent years are not available on microfilm and have not been inspected.
B. Madison County Musings, the publication of the Madison County Genealogical Society, published a list of cemetery inscriptions from the Lower Camp Ground Cemetery in Madison county (VI:2, p. 81). Included in this listing are two Street graves, Margaret Street (b. 15 Oct. 1792, d. 11 Nov. 1854) and Thomas Street (b. 25 July 1827, d. 19 Feb. 1859).
C. Goodspeed’s history of Madison co. lists early landowners, including Joseph Street in 1852, Township 17 Range 24 (SE SE Section 30). I have not tried to find the original document.
D. There is a deed recorded in Deed Book E, page 101 [Source: FHL film 007899273, image 636]: “Know all men by these presents that I, Joseph Street senr. of the state of Arkansas county of Madison in considertion of the sum of six hundred dollars to me paid by Joseph Street Junr. in good and lawful money the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, I do hereby give, grant, transfer, sell and convey unto the said Joseph Street Jr., his heirs and assigns, a certain tract and parcel of land situate in the state and county above mentioned bounded and described as follows, viz. the SE quarter of the SE quarter of section no. 30 and the northeast quarter of the NE of section no. thirty-one in township no. 17 north of range twenty four containing eighty acres more or less with all the [?] and appurtenances […] to have and to hold the aforementioned premises that […] Street his heirs and assigns [..] that I am […] full of the afoesaid premises that they are free from […]that I havea good right to sell and convey […] Joseph Street Jr. his heirs and assigns forever […] claims and demands of all and every person whom […] my seal this 9th day of January AD 1860. Joseph Street Witness: P. W. Newton, J.R. Berry”
E. A federal land patent for Joseph Street Junior was registered in Madison co. for 40 acres in Section 29, Township 17N, Range 24W, dated Feb. 1, 1860. This is a bit puzzling, since Joseph has not been located in the 1860 census; but perhaps the land was quickly sold and Joseph left the county (or perhaps the census taker missed him; or perhaps he is in the 1860 census, but I’ve not found him!).
F. Joseph Street Junior sells the same parcel he bought from his father, along with another parcel, on 10 Apr 1860 to Jacob Owens and Drury? Wall for $700 [Source: FHL film 007899273, image 658]
ANALYSIS: The connection of the California Street
families to Madison co. AR is based on the newspaper notice of Zedekiah’s marriage, which states he was
“from Madison co. AR.” This is supported
by the appearance in Madison co. tax records of Richard Street, just at the
time when the Tulare co. Richard Street is said to have located in Arkansas. If
the hypothesis that these Street listings in AR are in fact the California family
is correct, the following observations can be made: Joseph Street was
significantly older than Richard Street (b. 1797 or earlier, compared to
Richard’s 1814 birth date) and is quite possibly the father of the five known
Street brothers. The Margaret Street buried in Madison co. is of the correct
age to be the mother of these boys; and the Thomas Street buried there is the
correct age to be a brother, who would fit between Zedekiah and Joseph among the children of
Joseph and Margaret. William Street appears first on the tax list in 1855;
often this suggests that a man has turned 21. If that is the case here, William
would be born ca. 1833/34 and could be another brother between Joseph and
James.
V. TENNESSEE RECORDS. While all the evidence has pointed to the Street family coming from Tennessee (via AR), the only tie to a specific place in TN has so far been statements in records of the children of John Street that they were born in Putnam co. TN. Putnam co. was formed in 1854 from portions of White, Jackson, Overton and Dekalb counties, all located in central TN. A search of records in those counties reveals the following:
A. Richard Street married Patience Randolph in White co. TN 25 Feb. 1846. Certainly this is the Richard who later moved to Tulare co. CA. In the same county is the marriage record of John Street and Martha Robison 15 Apr. 1852, undoubtedly the John who settled in Modoc co. CA. The fact that these two brothers married in White co. suggests very strongly that this is the county in which their parents were living around 1850.
B. The 1850 census of White co. shows the following listing:
Richard
Street 34
b. NC
Patience 25 b. TN
Joseph 4 b. TN
Chisum 3
b. TN
Margarett 10/12 b. TN
[Source: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 11, White county, TN; Roll: 900; Page: 103B] (It might be noted that adjacent to this family is the household of John Robinson, including a daughter Martha Ann Robinson, 18 years old—just the right age to be the Martha Ann Robinson/Roberson who married John Street of Modoc co.)
C. A few pages away, still in White co., in
1850, we find the following family:
Joseph
Street 68 b. VA
Margaret 55 b. NC
John 33 b. NC
Hannah 24 b. TN
Zachariah 21 b. TN
Thomas 20 b. TN
Joseph 19 b. TN
William 15 b. TN
James M. 12 b. TN
[Source: Year: 1850; Census Place: District 11, White county, TN; Roll: 900; Page: 99B]
D. Joseph Street, with a consistent family configuration, is also found in the 1840 census of White co. and the 1830 census of adjacent Warren co. TN. These earlier records suggest an older daughter b. ca. 1815/20. White co. marriage records show a Frances Street who married Jonas Deitz in 1840; she is likely this daughter, since there doesn’t appear to be any other Street family in White co. at this time.
ANALYSIS: We had previously concluded that Richard,
John, Zedekiah, Joseph and James M. Street were all brothers, who had lived in
TN, possibly the area that later became Putnam co. (which would have included
White co. in 1850). The Madison co. AR records suggested possible additional
brothers William and Thomas, and our hypothesis was that the Joseph Street
there may have been their father, the Margaret Street their mother. Here, in
this 1850 census record, we have a listing that includes all these names except
Richard (but there is a corresponding Richard Street nearby, married and in his
own household) and Zedekiah (but Zachariah could easily be a census taker’s
error). This census record strongly supports our hypothesis. The Margaret
Street here was born ca. 1794/95—close enough to the 1792 date shown in the Madison
co. cemetery, given the margin of error on census records; the Thomas Street
here was born ca. 1829/30, again quite close to the Thomas buried in Lower
Campground Cemetery in Madison county.
The brother William here is shown as b. 1834/35, exactly what we
suggested for the William who apparently turns 21 in 1855 in Madison co. The
dates for John and Zachariah/Zedekiah also match closely the known dates for
those brothers. While this evidence is circumstantial, it must be regarded as
convincing that this is, in fact, the same family that appears both in Madison
co. AR and in California.
VI. OTHER STREET SIBLINGS. Given the list of children of Joseph and Margaret (Carmichael) Street in the 1850 census (as well as the listing, though without names, in the 1840 census), can we identify some of these additional siblings?
A. We previously noted that there was a Frances Street who married Jonas Deitz in White co. NC in 1840, and speculated that she might be the older daughter who appears in 1830 census record of Joseph and Margaret Street. Attempting to follow this family leads to some interesting other information. Jones Deats appears in the 1860 census of Collin co. TX, with wife Frances and four daughters, the oldest of whom is Margaret. [Precinct 1, page 33] Frances was born in NC, the older two daughters (Margaret, 16, and Ann, 12) in Tenn., and the younger two (Mary E., 8, and Rebecca M., 4) in Arkansas. This suggests that this couple was married in Tennessee, migrated to Arkansas in the early 1850s, and to Texas after 1856. The migration pattern from Tennessee to Arkansas matches that of the Streets. In the same 1860 census, in Lamar co. TX, is one Logan Dietz, age 19, wife Mary C., age 17. Dietz family genealogists say that this is the oldest son of Jonas and Frances (Street) Dietz, whose full name was Richard Logan Dietz. He had apparently recently married and moved to Lamar co.
ANALYSIS: Again this is circumstantial evidence, but it appears very likely that Frances Dietz is the daughter of Joseph and Margaret Street, and thus the sister of Zedekiah Street and the other Street brothers who migrated to California. This is confirmed by DNA matches on ancestry.com of several descendants of this couple with descendants of Zedekiah, John, and William Street.
B. Hannah Street. There is a Hannah Street who married William Bailey Gilliland. The specifics here are a little unclear. A number of sites, including findagrave.com, state that their marriage date was 25 Jul 1858, but I’ve not found a marriage record for them. Gilliland’s first wife, Sarah (Proctor), died in Madison co. AR 25 Mar 1857 and is buried in Huntsville Cemetary. W. B. and Hannah’s first known child was born ca 1859, reportedly in Texas; but the couple has not been located in either the 1860 or 1870 census. They appear in the 1880 census in Wise co. TX; Hannah died in Parker county TX in 1882 (Wise and Parker are adjacent). Her tombstone gives her birth year as 1822, slightly older than the 1850 census in White co. TN., but pretty close; and the 1880 census indicates she was born in Tennessee. It seems quite possible that the marriage took place in Madison co. AR soon after the death of Sarah, and if that is correct, it seems probable that the Hannah Street is the daughter of Joseph and Margaret; no other Street families are known to be living in Madison county at that time. This family is complicated to trace; there were numerous intermarriages with Gillilands; two of W. B. and Hannah’s daughters, for instance, married sons of one Benson Gilliland (presumably some degree of cousins).
ANALYSIS: It seems very possible that the Hannah Street who married William Bailey Gilliland also belong to this family, though further research needs to be done to confirm.
C. William Street presents some interesting problems. In Lamar co. TX in 1860, adjacent to Logan Dietz, is one William Street, age 27, born in Tennessee, with wife Sarah J., 24, also born in Tennessee, and an infant (one month old) Mary E., born in Texas. This same William and Sarah are recorded in Polk twp., Dade co. MO in 1870, with daughter Mary and two more daughters, Margaret, 8, and Amanda J., 4. One might think that this is the William who appears in the household of Joseph and Margaret in 1850. This couple is apparently the William M. Street (1832-1895) and Sarah Jane (Gray) Street (1834-1891) who are buried in Viney Creek Cemetery, Barry co. MO. Logan Dietz had married a sister of Sarah Jane (Gray) Street, Mary Caroline Gray, both of these women daughters of Benjamin F. and Mary (Williams) Gray. The close connection between these two adjacent families (husbands being uncle and nephew, wives being sisters) makes it very likely that this William is another son of Joseph and Margaret (Carmichael) Street. As stated previously, descendants of this couple show DNA matches with descendants of both John and Zedekiah Street.
1. This William Street who married Sarah Jane Gray appears in Lamar co. TX in 1860, Dade co. MO in 1870, McDonald co MO in 1880, and then apparently dies in Barry co. MO. His gravestone in the Viney Creek Cemetery there gives his birth date as 28 July 1832, death date as 15 Apr. 1895; his wife Sarah b. 24 May 1834, d. 24 Dec. 1891.
2.
We must note that there is, however,
another enigmatic William Street who appears in Fresno co. CA in 1860, as
follows:
Fresno co. Second Twp. 1860 PO Millerton
1044/1052
William Street 39 m Trader Ark
Jean 36 f HK Ark
Richard 14 m Ark.
Chistholm 13 m “
Margaret 12 f “
Lafayette 10 m “
Kate 6 f “
Emma 4 f “
Elizabeth 3 f “
Thomas 2 m “
The children in this household very closely mirror the children of Richard and Patience (Randolph) Street. Richard and Patience have not been located in the 1860 census, which might suggest that they were “en route” to California at that time and were missed by the census taker. But it is hard to believe that the children in this Fresno co. household are not theirs. Compare the families:
1850 Richard & Patience 1860 William & Jean 1870 census
White co. TN Fresno co. CA
Richard
b. ca. 1846
Joseph b. ca. 1846 Joseph
b. ca. 1847
Chisam b. ca. 1847 Chistholm b. ca.
1847
Margarett b. ca. 1849 Margaret b. ca. 1848 Margaret b. ca. 1848
Lafayette
b. ca. 1850 Lafayette b. ca.
1850
Kate
b. ca. 1854 Catherine
b. 1856
Emma
b. ca. 1856
Elizabeth
b. ca. 1857
Thomas
b. ca. 1858 Thomas b. ca.
1860
ANALYSIS: This Fresno county William’s age is considerably off what we would expect if he were the son of Joseph and Margaret; the Madison co. tax lists suggested a birth date of ca. 1833/34, while the 1850 census suggested ca. 1834/35; but this census record indicates a birth date of ca. 1821. Yet five of the children in this 1860 household correspond in name and date with the known children of Richard and Patience Street—and two of those names are quite unusual, Chisholm and Lafayette. It seems almost inconceivable that this is just a strange coincidence. But it raises all kinds of questions and problems. First, why are these children not with their parents? And who is this couple they are with? Furthermore, if these are Richard and Patience’s children, where are the rest of them? Joseph was old enough perhaps to be on his own, or perhaps the “Richard” here is in fact Joseph, a census-taker’s error? And who are these two girls, Emma and Elizabeth—perhaps children of William and Jean? Or is it possible that the census taker somehow screwed up the parents’ names, and that this is in fact Richard and Patience? In that case, would Emma and Elizabeth be two daughters who both died prior to the 1870 census? Or is one of them really Rebecca, Richard’s daughter b. 1858? I have not found any evidence of this “William Street” or his family after the 1860 census. While conceivably the “Jean” listed her as wife of William could be the Lamar co. William’s wife Sarah Jane, there is no evidence that this couple ever sojourned in California, and they are definitely listed in the 1860 census in Lamar co. TX with an infant daughter, so it seems very unlikely that they had come to California at this time. I’m inclined to think that the best way to understand this census record is that it is just seriously wrong.
This leaves us now with the following presumed family of Joseph and Margaret (Carmichael) Street:
i. Richard Street, b. NC (?) ca. 1814/15, mar.
Patience Randolph; d. Tulare co. CA ca. 1862
ii. John Street, b. NC 12 Jan. 1816, mar. Martha
Ann Robinson/Roberson; d. Cedarville, Modoc co. CA 1 Aug 1883.
iii. Frances “Fanny” Street, b. NC ca. 1820, mar.
Jonas A. Dietz; last known to be living in Red River co. TX 1870.
iv. Hannah Street, b. TN ca. 1822/25; perhaps
married William Bailey Gilliland, eventually settled in Wise and/or Parker co.
TX.
v. Thomas Street, b. TN 25 Jul 1827, d. Madison co. AR 19 Feb 1859, apparently unmarried
vi. Zedekiah Street, b. TN 11 Dec. 1828, mar.
Caroline Hash; d. Cedarville, Modoc co. CA 17 Apr 1906.
vii. Joseph Street, b. TN ca. May 1833, d. Tulare
co. CA 19 Mar 1910, never married.
viii. William M. Street, b. TN 28 Jul 1832, m.
Sarah Jane Gray; d. Barry co. MO 15 Apr. 1895.
ix. James Monroe Street, b. TN ca. Sept. 1839, d.
Visalia, Tulare co. CA 27 Apr 1919; never married.
VI. NORTH CAROLINA RECORDS. We have ascertained that the two oldest children of this family, Richard, John and Frances, were born in North Carolina, so we would expect to find a Joseph Street with this family configuration in that state in the census of 1820 (and perhaps that of 1810). A search reveals:
A. The only Joseph Street listed as head of a household in the 1820 census of North Carolina is found in Orange co.; he is not listed there in 1830. The 1820 listing shows Joseph and his wife both aged 26-45 (i.e., born 1775-94) with two sons and a daughter under five years of age. This is exactly consistent with the family of the White co. Joseph and Margaret Street.
B. Orange co. NC marriage records reveal the marriage of Joseph Street and Peggy Carmichael on 26 Sept. 1813. “Peggy,” of course, is a common nickname for Margaret. Since the eldest son of our Joseph and Margaret Street was born ca. 1814/15, this 1813 marriage is just what we would expect for them.
C. An Orange co. NC will, written in 1816 and proved in 1819, for Thomas Carmichael names his wife Mary, sons Archibald and John Henry Carmichael, and daughters Margaret Street, Jane Isely, and Nancy Smith.
D. The 1820 census noted above lists, on the
same page as Joseph Street, one John H. Comical. The 1840 census for White co.
TN lists, on the same page as Joseph Street, John H. Commichel. Obviously the
family of this Joseph Street has a continuing close geographical connection
with this John Carmichael (in various spellings), supporting the idea that
Joseph’s wife was the sister of John H. Carmichael.
F. The 1810 census of Orange co. NC is difficult to read; no Joseph Street was found, but there is a John Street, Esq. and an R. Street (who apparently has at least two other adult males living in his household, possibly brothers).
ANALYSIS: It seems likely that Joseph and Margaret “Peggy” (Carmichael) Street of Orange co. NC are the same Joseph and Margaret Street that later appear in White co. TN and Madison co. AR. The strongest piece of evidence here is the continued association with the Carmichael family in NC, TN, and possibly in CA. This is supported by consistent family configurations shown through the various censuses.
VII. THE STREET GENEALOGY. While a secondary source must always be treated with great caution, it is useful to note some information in The Street Genealogy by Mrs. Mary A. Street (1895). This book includes a section on a Street family of New Kent and Hanover cos. VA, descendants of John and Hannah (Waddy) Street. According to this book, this John Street had a son Joseph, b. 17 Dec. 1737, who after the Revolution “went to North Carolina and m. SALLIE TATE; afterward removed to Tennessee. He was living when Gen. Jackson was elected president. . . Mr. Street lived to be 98 years old, and his wife to be 96. Both d. in Tennessee.” This genealogy goes on to list their children as follows:
1. John Tate Street.
2. Richard Street (“m.; no issue”).
3. Joseph Montfort Street (“m., and in his old age emigrated to Oregon”).
4. William Street (“m. and moved to Williamson co., Tenn., then to Robertson co., Tenn., and d. there”).
5. Frances, m. Alexander Vincent (“moved to Williamson co., Tenn., and d. there”)
6. Sarah, m. Charley Shanks (“moved to Williamson co., Tenn., thence to Bedford co., d. and left a family”).
7. Mary, m. Mr Brackin (“never left North Carolina”)
8. Hannah, m. (1) Mr. Tate; (2) Mr. Waggoner (“moved to Williamson co., Tenn; had two children”).
This information is cited because much of it can be confirmed by census records showing a very similar migration pattern as that of our Joseph Street; this leads to the suggestion that our Joseph who married Margaret Carmichael may well be the son of Joseph and Sarah (Tate) Street described in this book. For example, the 1820 census of Orange co. NC in which we found a Joseph Street believed to be “our” Joseph also includes Alexander Vincent, an Isaac Brackin, and Volluntine [Valentine] Waggoner. Orange county marriage records, in addition to the one for Joseph Street and Peggy Carmichael, include Isaac Brackin and Susannah Street (bondsman Charlie Shanks), Richard Street and Elizabeth Liner, William Street and Nelly Shaw, Uriah Tate and Hannah Street (bondsman Joseph Street), Zephaniah Tate and Hannah Tate (bondsman William Street), and Valentine Waggoner and Hannah Tate. These families all turn up later in the various central Tennessee counties named in the Street genealogy: John Tate Street in Bedford co. in 1830; Richard Street in Bedford co. in 1830 (with a man and woman in his household in their 90’s and 80’s respectively, probably his elderly parents Joseph and Sarah) and in Marshall co. in 1840; William Street in Williamson co. in 1830, then in Robertson co. in 1840-60; Frances and Alexander Vincent in Bedford co. in 1830, then Williamson co. in 1840-50; Charles and Sarah Shanks in Bedford co. in 1830; Hannah and Valentine Waggoner in Williamson co. 1830-60 (and buried in a family cemetery in Nolensville, TN). It might also be noted that in the Tate family of which Sarah (Tate) Street was a part, the name “Zedekiah” appears a number of times; and the William Street who appears in Williamson co. TN had a son named Zedekiah. While not conclusive, this certainly points to our Joseph Street who married Margaret Carmichael and had a son Zedekiah being part of this family as well.
ANALYSIS: While positive proof is lacking, it seems a
good working hypothesis to assume that our Joseph Street was the son of Joseph
and Sarah/Sallie (Tate) Street. Mrs. Street’s reference to this Joseph as
“Joseph Montfort Street,” however, must be treated with skepticism. There was a
man name Joseph Montfort Street who was a frontier military man of some
prominence, and seems to have been a cousin of this line of Streets; it seems
more likely that Mrs. Street has conflated the two. The genuine Joseph Montfort
Street was descended from the Montfort family of Virginia (hence the name), but
our Joseph’s line was not; and Joseph Montfort Street the military man was a
contemporary of this Joseph, so it is not likely that the one was named for the
other. It should also be noted that Mrs. Street has this Joseph going to Oregon
“in his old age.” This is possible, though no record of him has been found
there. He is last known with certainty to be in Madison co. AR in early 1860. Since
most of his children migrated west about that time, the possibility of his
doing so cannot be dismissed.
Richard O. Johnson
307 Marina View Lane
Webster, NY 14580
e-mail: roj@nccn.net
Revised 2 March 2022
